Thinking About the ACT...

The ACT: Everybody's Business

Do you know how the ACT impacts high school performance grades?
Check it out here
(Need composite of 17 or above)

Where are the resources for ACT, PLAN, EXPLORE and WORKKEYS?
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/act/
http://www.act.org/stateservices/northcarolina/

What are the College Readiness Standards?

A Look at Practices at the District, School and Classroom Levels

Incentives for Student Success:

Think About School Wide Incentives (courtesy Rutherford County)
Materials shared by Randolph County: College Expectation Posters and posters displayed in cafeteria
And there there was this article in the Washington Post...
And here is the Wilkes County Schools plan
Get students excited with a staff video (courtesy Rowan County)

Crucial Conversation Among High School Staff:

Who “owns” this test? In other words, do all staff members feel responsible?
Do all staff members know what is on the ACT? Do they know how their curriculum aligns to ACT expectations?
How do PLAN scores inform students? Parents? Teachers?
Do we need to re-teach any test-taking strategies? If so, what?
What are our school's strategies for success?

Working on the Work (Advice from one School System to Colleagues):

Myth-busting with data
Importance of Curriculum Alignment (Revisit those CRS and ask, "Who owns the gaps?")
Using the PLAN scores
Communication 101

Using the PLAN scores with intentionality:

http://www.act.org/plan/downloads.html
Look especially at “PLAN Interpretive Guide for Student and School Reports”
ASPIRE info
Sample "share with parents" page from my daughter's schooland another sample video from Pisgah High (with auto-call that scores came home that day)

You may also want to know about:

The ACT question of the day: http://www.act.org/qotd/
SAT to ACT score comparison: http://www.act.org/solutions/college-career-readiness/compare-act-sat/
ACT practice questions: http://www.actstudent.org/sampletest/
Test taking tips: http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/tips/
ACT overview (and look also at links on the left): http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/descriptions/

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Slides for CCSA Conference